My Poppette Tops 2016 How Now Stakes Nominations & Weights

Robert Smerdon’s Group 2 winner My Poppette is one of the top-rated mares nominated for Saturday’s How Now Stakes 2016 at Caulfield Racecourse.

Group 2 winner My Poppette leads the 2016 How Now Stakes ballot for Saturday’s mares-only feature at Caulfield Racecourse. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

The key support act on Naturalism Stakes Day, this season’s $150,000 Group 3 How Now Stakes (1200m) sprint has attracted 19 mares at nomination stage.

Sitting top of the How Now Stakes ballot and weights is Smerdon’s Snippetson four-year-old My Poppette chasing her first win since the Group 2 Moonee Valley Fillies Classic (1600m) last Cox Plate Day.

She ran first-up at Sandown-Hillside in a Benchmark 84 crossing fourth and should be improving second-up.

Smerdon has a total of three How Now Stakes nominees with My Poppette joined by stablemates Atmospherical and Every Faith.

Also allocated 58kg along with My Poppette in the set weights plus penalties race is the Phillip Stokes-trained Miss Gunpowder, another runner coming off a first-up fourth.

The Pendragon mare made her four-year-old debut at Morphettville on August 27 running under three lengths off the winner in a Benchmark 90 over 1200m and is after her first win since last September’s Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at the Caulfield track.

The highest rated of the nominees are the Lindsay Park-trained duo of Sheidel and Miss Promiscuity.

Holy Roman Emperor five-year-old Sheidel has had just one previous start at Caulfield for an 1100m sprint win in April, which she followed with a devastatingly close second to Precious Gem in Adelaide’s Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m).

She comes off a first-up fourth at Moonee Valley a fortnight ago when only two lengths off Wild Rain in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes (1000m), and should improve getting out over her pet distance of 1200m (5-3-1-0).

Stablemate Miss Promiscuity is a six-year-old daughter of Magnus and boasts an outstanding Caulfield track record of four wins, two seconds and a third from nine runs at the course.

She lost her rider in the Robert Sangster bucking Luke Nolen from the saddle, and was last seen running a good fifth to Redzel in Caulfield’s Group 3 The Heath (1100m) in late August.

Michael Kent has nominated for his veteran Written Tycoon eight-year-old Vibrant Rouge who comes off a win over 1400m at the track in easier company on August 27.

The only other last start winner is the Team Hawkes-trained Ameristralia at the very bottom of the How Now Stakes ballot, the Fastnet Rock four-year-old chasing her third win on the trot after back-to-back Bendigo victories over 1100m.

Returning for local Caulfield horseman Mick Price is Secret Agenda, the Not A Single Doubt four-year-old last seen running fourth to Faatinah at Morphettville in the Group 2 Euclase Stakes (1200m) in early May.

Faatinah franked that South Australian form last Saturday winning the Group 2 Bobbie Lewis Quality (1200m) first-yup down the Flemington straight, Secret Agenda also looking to win first-up this weekend.

See below for the official How Now Stakes 2016 nominations, weights and order of entry before the field is released on Wednesday followed by exclusive markets at our No. 1 recommended bookmaker Ladbrokes.com.au.

2016 How Now Stakes Nominations & Ballot

Caulfield Racecourse – 17/09/2016

#	Form (Last 10)	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Ballot	Wgt.	Hcp. Rating
1	7317x340x4	MY POPPETTE	M	4	Robert Smerdon	1	58kg	84
2	3118x227x4	MISS GUNPOWDER	M	4	Phillip Stokes	2	58kg	85
3	20x411L0x5	MISS PROMISCUITY	M	6	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	3	57kg	102
4	0x0x653331	VIBRANT ROUGE	M	8	Michael Kent	4	57kg	91
5	221x27024x	SECRET AGENDA	M	4	Mick Price	5	57kg	96
6	11x34127x4	SHEIDEL	M	5	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	6	56kg	103
7	5080x70x36	ATMOSPHERICAL	M	6	Robert Smerdon	7	56kg	95
8	2114160×86	SHAKESPEAREAN LASS	M	5	Pat Carey	8	56kg	92
9	016x24088x	EXCLUSIVE LASS	M	5	Nigel Blackiston	9	56kg	85
10	55x581804x	EVERY FAITH	M	6	Robert Smerdon	10	55kg	84
11	1×51832150	A LOTTA LOVE	M	5	Sam Pritchard-Gordon	11	55kg	87
12	7x1117x577	MISS SOFTHANDS	M	7	Colin Little	12	55kg	82
13	110×149914	ANDRASSY	M	5	Allison Sheehan	13	55kg	84
14	1312x3286x	JALAN JALAN	M	4	Colin Little	14	55kg	78
15	122225×60	MOSSIN’ AROUND	M	4	Grahame Begg	15	55kg	75
16	12112x116x	ESTAMINET	M	5	Lee & Anthony Freedman	16	55kg	83
17	30337×8534	NOT A HAPPY CAMPER	M	5	Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra	17	55kg	73
18	11315×6322	FOREIGN AFFAIR	M	5	Henry Dwyer	18	55kg	75
19	2x2422x11	AMERISTRALIA	M	4	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	19	55kg	65